Last survivor of Greece's 1967-74 military junta dies at 103

Reuters Staff

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ATHENS (Reuters) - The last survivor from the right-wing junta that staged Greece's 1967 military coup and ruled for seven years has died at the age of 103, the state-run Athens News Agency reported on Sunday.

Born on the island of Crete, Stylianos Pattakos was a brigadier general who commanded armoured tank forces when he took part in the April 21, 1967 coup led by Colonel George Papadopoulos. Pattakos's tanks were pivotal in the junta's seizure of the capital Athens.

He served as interior minister as well as first deputy prime minister. After democracy was restored in 1974, Pattakos and Papadopoulos were arrested and sentenced to death. Their sentences were later commuted to life imprisonment.

Pattakos was released in 1990 for health reasons. He remained unrepentant to his death on Saturday, insisting that the coup had saved Greece from communism. Papadopoulos, who refused to seek his own release, died in prison in 1999.